Dr Joanna Markiewicz
holds degrees from the University of Gdańsk (Scandinavian Studies) and the University of Wrocław (Archaeology), where she completed her PhD in 2018 with a dissertation on cultural and economic transformations north of the Carpathians and Sudetes. She has held fellowships and academic positions in Norway, Germany, Denmark, the United States, and the Czech Republic. Since 2010, she has directed and co-directed fieldwork at several La Tène-period sites in Silesia, including Bytomin (Bytnik) and Samborowice.
The project team includes specialists in archaeobotany, archaeozoology, use-wear and residue analysis, as well as documentarians and museum collaborators from institutions in Poland, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. Together, the team re-examines archaeological collections, performs scientific analyses of ceramics, stone tools and organic remains, and compiles a comprehensive database of pre-Roman Iron Age sites.
Our goal is not only to gain a deeper understanding of the interaction between Celtic and northern communities in Iron Age Central Europe, but also to share the results with a broader audience – both scholarly and general. We believe research has real value only when it is communicated clearly and meaningfully.
The project is supported by an interdisciplinary team of specialists representing various fields of archaeology and natural sciences:
Agata Sady-Bugajska – archaeobotanist specialising in scientific and applied research in the natural sciences, with a particular focus on palaeobotany. In the project, she is responsible for the analysis of plant macro-remains and organic material preserved in soil samples and daub.
dr Renata Abłamowicz – zooarchaeologist and curator at the Silesian Museum in Katowice, author and curator of numerous temporary and permanent exhibitions. Within the project, she analyses animal bone remains from pre-Roman Iron Age sites to reconstruct herd structures and animal exploitation strategies.
dr Przemysław Dulęba – Iron Age archaeologist and expert in La Tène culture studies. He earned his MA and PhD at the University of Warsaw and is currently an assistant professor at the Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław. He is responsible for the preliminary study and cataloguing of Silesian archaeological finds from the younger pre-Roman Iron Age, including both published and unpublished materials.
dr Melanie Roffet-Salque – specialist in lipid residue analysis from archaeological pottery. She is based at the Organic Geochemistry Unit, University of Bristol. In the project, she conducts GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS analysis of ceramic samples.
mgr Zdeněk Beneš – he studied archaeology at Masaryk University and Charles University, where he currently works as a PhD candidate and lecturer. His research focuses on settlement archaeology, pottery and small metal finds from the Late La Tène and Early Roman periods, particularly in Central Bohemia. In the project, he is responsible for cataloguing and documenting Jastorf and Przeworsk finds from Czech and Moravian sites.
mgr Aleksandra Gawron-Szymczyk – PhD candidate at the Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, specialising in phytolith analysis. Her research in the project focuses on plant residue preserved on the surfaces of stone tools and ceramics, allowing the identification of processed species and vessel functions in both domestic and funerary contexts.
dr Radosław Biel – website administrator and project social media coordinator. Archaeologist, science communicator and PhD in technical sciences, affiliated with the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław. He specialises in the use of new technologies in archaeology. Editor-in-chief of the popular science journal “Archeologia Żywa” and host of the weekly webinar series “Kontekst”.
The research involves artefacts housed in the following institutions: